Welp, at least we now know one company that helped Singulus beat its Blu-ray duplicator sales estimates. Germany's CDA, which was still producing 3X DVDs as of mid-February, has finally realized that Blu-ray is the victor and the sole remaining high-def format that anyone cares about. Thus, it's finally investing in a production line for Blu-ray Discs that will boast capacities of 17,000 single-layer and 12,000 dual-layer units per day. In somewhat related news, the outfit is also expanding its DVD capacity to meet "growing demand." Clearly CDA hasn't been listening to the analysts, or else it has a darn good phase in / phase out plan for 2012.

That glut of LCDs sitting on the shelves has some manufacturers at odds on how to react, with world #2 LG cutting production by 10% (with plans to raise it again in September), while the number one manufacturer Samsung is going to keep pushing them out as fast as it can, aiming for double digit sales growth this year. That doesn't mean it's not concerned about falling demand and too much supply, but it looks like all those partnerships mean its going to have someone to sell all its screens to at the end of the day. Don't expect that attitude to crash prices anytime soon however, as OEMs like AUO and CMO are following LGs lead and cutting production temporarily.

Read - Samsung Elec says has no plans to cut LCD output
Read - LG Display to cut output by 10 pct in downturn

Shanghai Xinsuo Music Co. is opening a plant capable of making 500,000 Blu-ray discs per month by the end of this year. It is touted as the premier Hollywood film disc supplier in the Chinese market, and a company 51 percent owned by Sony (the other 49 percent held by Shanghai Media Group) as it continues to expand the market in China and reduce the cost of Blu-ray production. After that? More expansion, another plant in Shanghai and so on. The Chinese Blu-ray market also got a jolt with Sony announcing a 3-movie pack of Kung Fu Hustle, Spider-Man 3 and Open Season for the BDP-S300. Guess it's a good thing there's a testing center in the area.

Read - Shanghai Xinsuo to Roll Out Blu-ray Discs within 08
Read - Blu-ray Discs Production Surge Expected by December

So yeah, apparently that whole attempt to "streamline operations" back in April didn't go over so well, as Syntax-Brillian -- you know, that firm neck deep in panel partnerships and responsible for Olevia HDTVs -- has just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Arizona-based company has also "entered into a deal to sell certain of its assets to a newly created company called Olevia International Group LLC," which has agreed to pick up some $60 million of its secured debt. We're also told that operations in Tempe have ceased, and "about eight employees" (including the finance chief, general counsel and finance staff) are sticking around with nothing better to do.

[Thanks, Paul]

Barely a month after hearing rumors that the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) would be granting licenses to 11 China-based manufacturers, in flies official word that the very first Blu-ray Disc testing center has been established in that very nation. CESI Technology, a contributor member of the BDA, is the lucky winner, and as of today, "Chinese manufacturers can receive verification services for the official production of BD-ROM Movie Players at this center." Hopefully, this means that we'll be waiting less for the development and market launch of BD products. On a slightly related note, DigiRise DRA -- also a Chinese company -- found that its homegrown digital audio coding technology has passed an important milestone in the Blu-ray approval process. Not that we're crazy about having one more codec to juggle, but there you have it. More details on both points below.

Read - First BDA testing center in China
Read - DRA audio codec

Singulus has announced that even its "significantly" raised sales projections for Blu-ray duplication machines may have been to low, after exceeding its own sales forecast for the first half of the year, while predicting more orders coming soon. The manufacturer is aiming to take over 65 percent of the market, and already sold 31 production lines this year. Nearly three years after launch that number doesn't seem incredibly high, but if Singulus is happy, who are we to stand in the way?

Blue Ray Technologies was expecting business to boom shortly after the format war concluded, and apparently the shock is in full effect. According to founder and chairman Erick Hansen, America's "first indie Blu-ray disc manufacturing plant is now becoming the largest indie [and Profile 2.0-friendly] Blue-ray Disc mastering facility in the US." When all is said done, the facility will be "the only indie that can handle rewritable disc mastering and will provide pre-mastering as well," not to mention being the only one that can make a rewriting stamper. Granted, most of this stuff amounts to a huge pat on the back, but the expansion of independent films on BD is certainly healthy for the industry at large. Now, if only the hardware to watch these films on were more affordable, we'd really have a match made in heaven.

Not like LG had any choice but to get savvy with OLED, but either way, it's good to hear that it's making the investment willingly. According to CEO Kwon Young-soo, LG is planning to use some of its "abundant cash" (must be nice, right?) to "increase capital spending for the active-matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLED) business." He refused to dole out a proper figure at the time, noting that the company was "still watching the market to seek a proper time to implement decisive action." As for logistics, it's highly likely that a little tag-team work with Samsung SDI will take place, while it's also probable that we'll see its 3.5G AMOLED line relocated to its facilities in "Paju, Gyeonggi Province, following the relocation of the two-generation production line in Gumi." So, LG -- now that we know you're all gung ho, might we see that 32-inch OLED TV before 2011?

Hey, someone has to take care of Planet Earth's insatiable appetite for LCD, right? Samsung is once again looking to expand its LCD manufacturing operations in China, this time by investing around $500 million to erect a new facility for cranking out the seemingly successful 82-inch panel (among others). Reportedly, the plant will eventually be used to pump out 40-, 46-, 57-, 70- and 82-inch LCD panels in order to "satisfy the robust market requirement," but there's no word given on how soon product will start to ship from its doors.

Terre Haute, Indiana is home to Sony's only Blu-ray Disc manufacturing facility in the entire United States, and while just north of 1,100 people are employed there now, another 85 will soon be joining the staff as finalized expansion plans are hammered down. The $113 million effort will add to its nearly 1 million-square-foot facility, though we aren't given specifics regarding how many more discs the plant will soon crank out. We hear you can wear funny masks there, though.

Syntax-Brillian just can't seem to have enough partners, as just four months into this glorious year, the aforementioned outfit has teamed up with Sharp, LG Display and now Compal Electronics. As predicted, the newest partnership is all about panels, and Compal will be providing 300,000 of 'em that will find their way into select Olevia LCD HDTVs. Notably, that figure is just the initial order -- the agreement suggests that over a million panels could eventually change hands between the two before 2008 comes to a close. C'mon Syntax-Brillian, we know you've got a few more partners to sync up with before Q2 ends.

Talk about a war chest! Coming off the Blu-ray win in the format war, Sony has announced plans to invest more than $100 million in its Terre Haute, IN plant. The facility is used for Blu-ray disc production, and Sony is budgeting for at least 65 more workers, $101 million in new equipment and $7.4 million in property improvements. The plant is mostly staffed by hourly workers, but Sony plans on 15 of those 65 positions to be salaried. The old adage about "spending money to make money" is true, and at this point we're not going to bother with asking whether the money was freed up from the format war or not. All we ask is that the increased Blu-ray disc production capacity helps move titles from the Sony archive to store shelves!

We wondered why its so hard to find one of Pioneer's award winning Kuro plasmas on shelves these days, and here is the answer. The Nikkei is reporting that Pioneer plans to stop producing plasma panels altogether, and only put together HDTVs with panels purchased from other sources. Panasonic and Hitachi remain as the only Japanese plasma manufacturers, Pioneer already has a deal with the former to purchase plasmas for its 42-inch model, and will expand that agreement according to The Nikkei. Honestly, this wouldn't be a big deal for most companies, as we've seen with the Sony/Sharp/Samsung triangle in LCD manufacturing, but since Pioneer is the only manufacturer promising the blackest black levels this side of carbon nanotubes, we're freaking out a bit. Here's hoping Pioneer slides over the blueprints to the infinite contrast concept (and that sexy 9mm model) and keeps the party going.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in; via CNBC; warning: reg required on read link]

Syntax-Brillian opened a new 30,000-square foot LCD plant in Nanjing, China on Friday, which is expected to produce 300,000 units anually. The displays will be sold in the Chinese market at five major consumer electronics resellers on the Chinese coast, with additional capacity for the US and Canadian markets. Olevia-branded LCDs from Syntax-Brillian have entered the market fairly well, growing from a relatively unknown brand to the top three in the 25- to 29-inch category, and in the top ten for 35- to 39-inch displays.

Whether or not you're actually considering buying one of Sharp, Samsung or Sony's 52-inch 1080p LCDs next year, they're pretty sure you will and as a result are pushing manufacturing schedules up. According to Digitimes, Sony & Samsung's joint manufacturing venture S-LCD is expected to have their eighth generation manufacturing plant ready several months ahead of its original October 2007 launch date. Sharp already has an 8G plant but that's just not good enough, they'll be doubling capacity in March. With heavy price competition among the various "Full HD" LCDs and manufacturing increases, hopefully the 52-inch of 2007 will be the 32-, 37- and 42-inch of this year and last in terms of price drops.